Yes Adam, its just the thread holding the screws in place. I've could have gone with slightly shorter screws and it would work just as well. As long as your only on ice or dirt it doesn't matter. Works well even on wood...

 thats pretty awesome! how long did it take you to do both wheels?

 Took me an hour and a half... not that bad. So worth it. I was riding again today.... ice everywhere and I can corner and ride just like on dirt. It really is amazing. I've used new tires, as I know they last me a long time for winter riding.

 you should.... I had my doubts but its amazing how well it works. Now I'm riding a lot of skinnies in icy and wet conditions ;-)

 It works so well, I can't believe it. Its like riding on rails.. the guys at my LBS told me not to buy a studded tire, but to build my own. A bit time consuming, I've predrilled 105 holes with a cordless screwdriver and then put the metal screws in. Otherwise they won't end up in the center of the knobs. I'm going to do the same for my Demo 8 now. We often have frost and ice on the trails still late in the season and this works...

 My buddy and I have done the same thing before but with 1 inch galvanized screws All along the side knobs. Then each pair across the tire we took industrial zipties and yanked them together so the stood almost upright. It was basically a paddle tire with insane traction. You couldn't spin out ice...

 gave me at least an extra month of riding... worked extremely well.

 Really thats very cool! Does it work for really muddy trails as well?

 It does! Just be cautious. As killerbikeman commented above, you don't want to be touching the tire at high speed.

 cool man its a good thought!hahahahahah